State and local government

Brazil is made up of 26 States and a Federal District. Their independence is guaranteed by Brazil's 1988 Constitution. Brazil's states maintain a separation between executive and legislature. Each of the 27 governors must achieve more than 50 per cent of the vote, including a run-off between the top two candidates if necessary. State legislatures have only one chamber. The deputies are elected through an open-list system in which the state serves as one constituency.

Government in Brazil's nearly 5,000 municipalities is also structured with a separation between the executive office of the Mayor (prefeitura) and a legislative city council (câmara de vereadores). Elections for mayor also require the winner to obtain more than 50 per cent of the vote, with the exception of cities with less than 200,000 inhabitants. Local elections are held in the second year between presidential, congressional and state elections.

State Governments

NORTH REGION

Acre | Amapá | Amazonas | Pará | Rondônia | Roraima

TOCANTINS

Website of the government of the State of Tocantins. The state capital is Palmas. [pt]


NORTHEAST REGION

Alagoas | Bahia | Ceará | Maranhão | Paraíba | Pernambuco | Piauí | Rio Grande do Norte | Sergipe

CENTRAL WEST REGION

FEDERAL DISTRICT

Website of the government of the Federal District. The district capital is Brasília. [pt]


GOIÁS

Website of the government of the State of Goiás. The state capital is Goiânia. [pt]


MATO GROSSO

Website of the government of the State of Mato Grosso. The state capital is Cuiabá. [pt]


MATO GROSSO DO SUL

Website of the government of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul. The state capital is Campo Grande. [pt]

SOUTHEAST REGION

ESPÍRITO SANTO

Website of the government of the State of Espírito Santo. The state capital is Vitória. [pt]


MINAS GERAIS

Website of the government of the State of Minas Gerais. The state capital is Belo Horizonte. [pt]


RIO DE JANEIRO

Website of the government of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The state capital is Rio de Janeiro. [pt]


SÃO PAULO

Website of the government of the State of São Paulo. The state capital is São Paulo. [pt]

SOUTH REGION

Paraná | Rio Grande do Sul | Santa Catarina

Main Municipalities

Belo Horizonte | Campinas | Cuiabá | Curitiba | Florianópolis | Fortaleza | Manaus | Porto Alegre | Recife | Rio de Janeiro | Salvador | São Paulo